Internet advertising agencies have one of the oldest services in the form of email marketing. One of the most important reasons due to which email marketing is still popular is that it is a completely non intrusive form of internet advertising. 77% of consumers say that emails are the ways in which they prefer to receive internet ads. However, for a promotional email to be successful in its venture, it has to be opened first. Getting the recipient to open the email is the most crucial step in the process of email marketing. Thus, internet advertising agencies all over the world constantly research to find the best methods to increase the open rates of emails.

This article discusses some of the ways that have been highlighted in the researches and used by the top internet advertising agencies to ensure high email open rates. The focus is of course on the content of subject lines since they play the most influential role in deciding whether an email is opened or discarded. However, there are a few other variables too that have come into active play in recent times.

Don’t Get Filtered Out

A lot of providers make the mistake of concentrating on terms signifying excitement in the subject line in order to attract the users. Thus terms like “Earn Profits”, “Free!!”, etc. seem to be the order of the day. However, there is a high probability that those emails will never make it to the inbox of the recipients. This is because such terms add to the spam points, and on reaching a certain number of points, the mails are automatically diverted to the spam box by the spam filters. An attractive subject line would then be of no use. So the first step is to completely stay away from such words if possible or to use them in a minimum number.

Optimum Length of the Subject Line

There are 2 lengths of subject lines that show better opening rates in a marked manner. Keep the length to 2 words or more than 14 words. Very short email subject lines score as they are objective while longer subject lines create an impression of being important in the minds of the readers. However, even the subject lines where the number of words is between 2-14 words can have a good opening rate if the other quotients discussed in this article are taken into consideration.

Time of Sending

You must have seen that even with social media platforms, uploading an image or updating your status at certain times of the day result in better responses than the others. The same is true for emails too. It has been seen that emails sent early in the day have a much higher open rate than the ones sent later. This would mean that mails sent to recipients of different countries should be scheduled according to their regional clocks. Experts suggest sending mails as early as 6 in the morning, so that they are the first things the users see before they get engaged with other tasks of the day.

Mobile Friendly

Considering the growing use of mobiles to stay connected through emails, creating emails that are mobile friendly may be the single most important requirement for internet advertising. On a worldwide basis, 47% users read emails on their mobile devices. This share is slated to keep on increasing. Since 63% users say that they immediately delete emails that are not mobile friendly, creating mobile friendly emails is a top priority for the internet advertising agencies.

Personalization

A personalized internet ad email, which has been customized according to the location and demography, has a much better opening rate. Users are usually more prone to open emails that seem to have been written exclusively for them.

Internet advertising agencies constantly keep updating their bag of techniques to get the emails opened. Rules dictating the functioning of spam filters, changes in the online behavior of the users, etc. Are some of the top criteria that are constantly under their monitoring.

Have you ever been surfing the web and come upon Internet advertising that provides a direct solution for something that you’ve been researching lately? Did you think that it might be related to your computer cookies, or did you chalk it up to serendipity?

The fact is, it almost certainly wasn’t a coincidence. Behavior-based Internet advertising is a relatively new and very powerful way for advertisers to get their message in front of potential buyers that they know to be qualified. The question is, how do they know that the surfer is qualified?

The advertisers know this because the Internet advertising network is tracking the surfers’ online activity. With tracking, advertisers know what sites you like. They know what searches you make. They have profiled you, and, unlike in real life, profiling on the web is AOK — so far.

Check Your Computer for Cookies

Before we get into the legal issues involved, perhaps a further definition of the technology is in order. Most (but not all) behavioral Internet advertising is based on computer “cookies.” These computer cookies are tiny files that are placed on your machine when you visit certain websites. In the simplest form, you go to a web page. An advertiser has a blank spot, or placeholder, for a banner ad. But instead of serving up just any banner ad, the advertiser parses through your computer for cookies to discover your likes and dislikes, and then you are fed Internet advertising based on your online behavior.

For some people, this is no big deal. They like Internet advertising to be targeted toward them, and they don’t mind computer cookies. For others, it’s a little Orwellian and creepy. This leads us to the great debate.

Opt-in or Opt-out?

One big question to be resolved is whether ultimately this type of Internet advertising will be “opt-in” (meaning that a user has to sign up in order to receive targeted ads) or “opt-out” (meaning that a user will receive targeted ads unless they specifically ask not to).

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to know which side the advertisers are on. If governmental regulators eventually require that all Internet advertising be “opt-in”, the industry will be severely restricted. My guess is that it would relegate behavior-based Internet advertising to a fringe player in the online marketing world.

The privacy advocates, naturally, are on the other side of the fence. The vast majority of people assume that their online activity is not being tracked, they say. Why should they have to take a specific action in order to remove computer cookies and to not be tracked and profiled?

A Do Not Track List?

Recently, a group of nine consumer advocate groups proposed the idea of a “Do Not Track” list for Internet advertising, which would work in a similar fashion as the “Do Not Call” list works today. Naturally, this is an “Opt-out” scenario, but because of the attention that the formation of such a list would bring, it may be a suitable compromise between advertiser and advocate.

How to Prevent Being Tracked

It is fairly easy to prevent being tracked by advertisers. You simply prevent your machine from accepting computer cookies. Go to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL and click on INTERNET OPTIONS then the PRIVACY tab. (Note that these instructions assume you are working with a Windows XP system. The procedure will be similar, however, for other operating systems.) Slide the bar all the way to the top to where it says “Block All Cookies.”

However, you should be aware that this change may limit your Internet experience. Some websites will not display properly (or at all) if you do not accept computer cookies. In my experience, at least one of the top five search engines will not work at all. Other engines have limited functionality when you block Internet advertising.

Even if you do manage to turn off your computer cookies, don’t rest easy just yet.

The Newest Technology

Recently, it was announced that a Silicon Valley startup named NebuAd has created a new technology that does not require computer cookies. Under the NebuAd model, the company teams up directly with service providers and installs equipment directly at their facilities that allows them to track the behavior of individuals on the web, even if their machine does not accept computer cookies. This, of course, requires Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to embrace the new technology; naturally, they are given a piece of the Internet advertising revenue that is generated. Whether or not any of the major players embrace this technology will probably depend largely on public outcry, or lack thereof. Of course, if this does become the newest behavioral targeting standard, we will return again to the question of “Opt-in” or “Opt-out.”

Conclusion

The future of this approach to Internet advertising is unclear, and will depend largely on public education and reaction. Will people see value in receiving targeted ads, even if it means that somewhere there is an “anonymous” profile of them sitting on a server? Will they feel outraged and push for a total ban? It’s hard to say.

Will this new approach be the death of the Internet as we know it? Probably not. But it should at least be interesting.

Advertising is the fundamental need for small, as well as large organizations. The web advertising offers immense growth opportunities for organizations seeking Brand building, brand promotion, brand awareness, etc. Internet is an effective media for meeting the advertising needs of an organization. This is where Internet advertising agencies are required to play their role. The advertisement campaigns cannot be efficiently conducted without utilizing the nouveau solutions by such agencies. The services covers all aspects of advertising, which consists of designing, development, publishing and modifying.

In addition, the use of banner network has enhanced the utility of Internet advertising. This type of network composites of advertisers, publishers and agencies. It supports displays advertising, which is done over the publisher websites. The Internet advertising agencies has a workforce of creative think tanks, graphic designers and other creative experts having proficient hands in developing innovative advertisements. The banner advertisements must be quite compelling for the target audience. It is very important when there is a need of extensive promotions for growing brands.

The Internet is coming up as a feasible media for carrying on effective advertising. This advertising is based on CPA models generally, which may diversify into clicks, impressions, lead acquisitions, visitors, etc. This type of models fit the advertising budget of all sizes of organizations. It means, more advertising per penny of ad spend. As a result, the solutions of Internet advertising agencies becomes constructive in generating more responses and revenue. The Internet advertising has eased off the hardships of competition in the business scene.

Now, due to the presence of Internet advertising agencies, the small and medium entrepreneurs can also stand tall among other leading brands. These agencies are a medium to provide wide exposure to the established brands or even the brands under development. The agencies perform various advertising operations through different effective tools like publishing banner ads across an extensive advertising network. The ads are delivered to the relevant users by using central ad server technology. This in turn, achieves business response for the advertisers. This enables targeted delivery of ads that is based on network, browser, IP, location, connection, user data etc. Partnering with experts surely enhances the strength of promotional campaigns.